


I Need a Favor

by whatteam_voltron



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Angst, Car Accidents, Gen, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-07-13 23:24:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16028165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatteam_voltron/pseuds/whatteam_voltron
Summary: Jared got hit by a car the night Evan stopped speaking to him. He had no one to help him when he needs a ride home from the hospital, so he calls Evan as a last resort, not sure he would care enough to show up.Evan, however, finds it hard to stay very angry at Jared when he's hurt, and he wants to convince him that when it comes down to it, he still cares.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be about 3 chapters long? Maybe? I just had an idea the other day and couldn't get it out of my head.

After the fallout from the events of the past weekend, Evan could do little more than lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling, often starting to cry if he thought about the Murphys.

Zoe would never talk to him again. Worse, he _upset_ her. He used her and she got hurt.

This was the worst weekend of his life. At least it was Sunday and it was almost over.

He had come clean to Alana Saturday and now she wasn't speaking to him. And Jared... well, he didn't want to hear from Jared anyway.

Speak of the devil. His phone was on silent as always, but he could see it light up with Jared's name. Evan scoffed and let it ring. He wasn't going to put up with Jared bullying him more.

Eventually the phone stopped. It was only a few seconds before it lit up again. Evan rolled his eyes. Let it ring.

He picked up the phone after it went dark again, deciding on blocking Jared's number completely. No matter how much he wanted someone to talk to, he wasn't that desperate. He wasn't going to crawl back to Jared.

Before he could get to blocking, texts started coming through.

Jared: evan this is really not the time to ignore my calls

Jared: like i know we're not exactly on good terms right now

Jared: but it's kinda important

Jared: pick up

Jared: come on after all the shit i did for you this year

Jared: don't u owe it to me to pick up a damn call

Evan was furious. When the phone rang again he picked it up and started yelling. "You have the audacity to act like I owe you shit, Jared? Who do you think got us into that mess? This year would have gone fine if I just didn't listen to you!" Evan thought about hanging up, but something kept hin waiting for a response, wanting to hear Jared get upset. Good. He should be.

There was silence for a while. "...Okay. I-I get it, just- I need a favor. I tried asking Alana, but I think she has me blocked, I've never seen her completely ignore calls before. I don't have any other options. I'll give you back the 20 bucks. Hell, I'll pay you 100. I'll write more letters however you want them, just, dammit Hansen, do you want me to beg? Admit everything was my fault?"

Evan furrowed his eyebrows. Admission of fault wasn't something Jared easily gave up. "What do you need?"

There was a beat of silence. "I need someone to pick me up from the hospital."

Evan grew suddenly unsure of all his anger towards the other boy as worry settled into his stomach. "I- I- hospital? What are you- what are you doing at a hospital?" He told his mind to not get ahead of itself. Maybe Jared was just visiting a relative.

"Umm. I- uhhh... So here's the thing. I uhh, well- you don't need the whole story but the short version is I got hit by a car."

"What?!" Evan yelled into the phone. He sat up in his bed. "How bad? What hospital are you at?"

"That's another thing. Please don't hang up but it's in Avon."

Evan froze as he was grabbing his keys. "How did you end up almost 2 hours away?"

"It's a long story."

Evan scoffed. "Well- clearly, Jared, I'm gonna have plenty of time to hear it! Where are your parents?"

Jared gave an empty laugh. "They didn't even cancel the rest of their business trip. Look, Hansen, I know you pretty much hate my guts right now and I wouldn't be bothering you if there were any other option, but I just don't want to have to spend God knows how much on an uber so some stranger can pity me for two hours because no one likes me enough to pick me up. At least with you you'll know I deserve it, right?" And Jared really didn't mean for his voice to crack but sometimes you can't help it.

Evan couldn't find his voice for a moment. He couldn't find a response to that. "I- Jared, that's- I'm coming, that's not why I asked about your- about your parents." He scribbled a note to his mother, then headed out the door. He knew there was more he should say, like how he didn't hate Jared and of course he'd help him. But guilt twisted inside him as he thought about how close he came to blocking his number. Maybe there wasn't anything obvious about it. "I'm on my way. How long have you been there? Since this morning?"

"You keep asking the tough questions."

"Jared..." Evan tensed, knowing the answer couldn't be good.

"I got hit Friday night."

"You've been in the hospital for two days? That's- they don't keep you that long for just- it's not just a few broken bones, is it?" Evan hurriedly got in his car and buckled his seatbelt.

Evan could almost hear Jared pinching the bridge of his nose through the phone. "Look, I don't want to distract you while you're driving, for obvious reasons. Just- I promise if you get here, I'll never bother you with anything ever again, okay?"

"That's not- J- Jared, I don't-" But Jared had already hung up. Evan sighed and rested his head on the steering wheel for a moment before starting the car and pulling out of the driveway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cue shamelessly self-indulgent angst and not knowing how hospitals work. Unrealistic? Yeah. But I'm still going for it.
> 
> WARNINGS for chapter:
> 
> underage drinking, suicide mention

The first thing he noticed was how bare the room was.

Evan didn't end up in the hospital for more than a few hours when he broke his arm, but he remembered visiting his grandma after a stroke when he was young. His mom brought him in the day after she was admitted, and he remembered the corner of the room being full of flower and cards and balloons.

He should have brought a card. His hands started sweating. He finally looked over at Jared. He seemed to be asleep at that point, but he hardly looked peaceful. His right leg and arm were in casts, a white foam cuff braced his neck, there was a bandage around his forehead.

Evan sucked a breath in. "Jar-"

He was interrupted by a nurse appearing. "Are you here to drive him home?"

Evan was startled, but nodded.

The nurse seemed to sigh with relief. "That's good. You're Evan? Are you a friend? Or family?"

Evan held back a laugh as he thought the words 'family friend' but held his tongue. This wasn't the place. "We're friends. But uh- we're close, I've known him since- when we were little, if you need any more medical information."

The nurse shook her head. "We'd just be more comfortable if he had someone to watch him for a little while. Make sure he's resting and not trying to do what he normally would. Too much screentime or light can give him a headache, and he shouldn't do anything that requires concentration for the next few days. Make sure you can wake him every few hours or so, if he doesn't, call 911. Or call if there's any other major complications, if he has any seizures or serious memory loss. Theres more information on what to look for in this packet. In a few days he should go to his doctor and he will likely be able to return to a limited amount of work each day. It'll be a while before he goes back to school, though. You'll want someone to get in touch with his teachers to figure out some sort of plan."

Evan's hand shook as he took the papers. He spared a glance back at Jared. All he could think about was how he would be responsible for him soon. Jared'a brain could spontaneously stop working at any time in the next few days. What if something happened when Evan stepped out of the room for a moment? What if Jared enters a coma while Evan is sleeping? What if Jared ends up dead and it's all Evan's fault?

The nurse noticed that his breathing was picking up. "These complications are very unlikely, we wouldn't be releasing him if there was any major risk. The only things you really need to worry about it making sure he's eating, staying hydrated, and taking his pain medication, I can guarantee he won't be a happy camper if he forgets that. And be careful not to hit any rough bumps or potholes on the road, you don't want to jostle him too much. You can look through the packet, if you have any questions you can-"

"H-" Evan let out what was barely a squeak before clearing his throat and starting again. "How did this happen?"

The nurse bit her lip. "Jared requested we didn't share any information that wasn't immediately necessary. It was hard to get him to agree to that much, but we told him we'd have to keep him another day if he didn't. You're going to have to get the story out of him."

Evan tried to control his breathing. This was too much. He wasn't prepared for this. His mind went to when he hung out with Jared when they were in middle school. When did they get so far apart that Jared didn't want him to know how he _almost died_. Dammit, he didn't even _call him_ to let him know until there was no one else to drive him home. Evan choked on a sob, thinking about Jared being all alone, not even bothering to call Evan because he was so convinced that he wouldn't care enough to visit him in the hospital.

He had fucked up. Something went radically wrong this year. Evan had to have miscalculated so much of what Jared was saying, what it really meant. Jared was a dick, yeah, but he was a friend in his own way. He sucked at communicating and Evan sucked at translating and somewhere along the way Jared had become someone who didn't matter in Evan's eyes, some soulless bully who didn't care if he was ignored.

And yet, Evan knew that wasn't true either. Sure, when it started, it was just Evan getting caught up in other things, not noticing how much he was losing touch with Jared.

But there was a point, in the middle of a Skype call, when he realized it. Half of him thought it was just wishful thinking, that Jared didn't really care, but the other half knew. He saw Jared's face fall as Evan dismissed whatever he was saying. Some part of him wanted to pay back Jared for all the times he acted like he didn't give a shit about Evan. Show him how it feels. Fuck, he wanted to push Jared enough to admit he cared.

So he couldn't stop. He'd keep testing him, ignoring him, not laughing at his jokes. And when he noticed that Jared was hurting, it felt like a victory, like he had proven to himself Jared cared.

And he didn't stop. When he heard Jared start to cry as he ran fron their last fight, the first thing he felt was victory, that of knocking an enemy down a peg and at the same time proving that his friend really cared.

Some part of him enjoyed the validation, enjoyed watching Jared break.

But he never thought he'd be this bad. There was no joy to be gained from the harsh realization of just how much you hurt your friend.

Eventually Evan was brought back to reality. "Breathe slowly, honey, in through the nose, out through the mouth. There you go, easy does it." The nurse waited a few moments. "Do you think you're ready to see him?"

Evan couldn't get words out, but he nodded.

The nurse went over to Jared and called to him before lightly touching him. He groggily opened his eyelids, squinting at the light in the room. "H- hello?"

"Hey, Jared, your friend is here to pick you up, we're going to move you into the wheelchair in a few minutes, okay?"

"Mmm-hmmm."

"Do you want some time to talk to Evan?"

Jared gave a tired chuckle, then mumbled "I don't think Evan wants any time to talk to me."

Evan's stomach twisted. The nurse spared him a glance, then smiled sadly. "I think you'll find Evan was very worried about you and wants to know more about what happened."

"Mmm-hmmm." Jared said, but it seemed as if he was just humoring her. He closed his eyes again.

The nurse tsked. "Jared, this will be easier if you're awake."

Jared rolled his eyes. "Fine."

"I'll be right back in a few minutes, try drinking some water." And she left.

Jared took a moment to get his bearings. "'M sorry Evan. She prolly talked your ear off 'bout how to babysit me. I don't expect you to do all that, you can just drop me off at my house, so don't even worry about it."

Evan frowned. "Jared, I'm not- you don't- I'm not gonna just- leave you alone! You're seriously hurt!"

Jared rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine now. Just stuck with these casts for a while. You don't have to-"

"I'm not leaving you alone."

Jared sighed. "Fine. Guess I'll owe you. What do you want, those other emails you asked for? Or-"

Evan shook his head. "Don't worry about it, those aren't- I don't need those anymore, I- I guess you have a bit to catch up on."

Jared furrowed his brow and made to respond but the nurse returned. She and Evan helped Jared into a wheelchair and talked Evan's ear off about how to take care of Jared. Evan went to get his car and pulled it around to pick up Jared, whom he managed to maneuver into the seat, and they were off.

The car was silent for what felt like the longest time. Eventually, though, Evan heard Jared clear his throat.

"I- um- I realized some things over the past few days." He paused. "I've been spending my life being an asshole because if I push people away, they won't see who I really am and hate me for it. But it doesn't matter. When you wake up and you're told you almost died and no one's there to visit you and no one even noticed you were gone- it doesn't make a fucking difference if everyone hates you because of who you are or who you pretend to be. No one showed up because no one cares. And that's- that's my fault. And I'm not asking you to hang out with me again or whatever, because I know I've already fucked things up with you, but I just wanted you to know that I realized I fucked up. And I'm sorry."

Evan was nearly speechless, trying to keep tears from filling his vision. He lost that battle. "Shit." He pulled the car over.

"What's wrong? Is the car okay?"

"Yeah, I just- I don't want to drive when my vision's all- blurry. Not when you're all-" He couldn't finish the sentence. "What happened to you, Jared?"

"I- uh- in general or?"

"How did you end up in the hospital?"

"I got hit by a car."

He received a tearful, yet extremely annoyed look.

Jared swallowed. "So uh- Friday night, I sort of- hm. Look, it's not as big of a deal as you're going to make it out to be but I just sort of- drove for a while to clear my mind? And I ended up in Avon, and then I just- pulled into a parking lot, took the booze I smuggled down there, walked a bit into the trees on the other side of the road, and sat down and got wasted. It was- stupid, yeah. My own dumb fault. Then I remember stumbling out of the trees and- the headlights and then- well, then I was in the hospital."

Evan looked at Jared incredulously. "I-i-that's- you're serious? What were you- why would you do that? What happened to make you drive out to the middle of nowhere to get drunk by yourself?"

Jared only snorted in response.

"This isn't funny!"

"Oh what, is Evan worried?"

"Of course I'm worried! You could have died!"

"Don't tell me 'of course,' Evan, when you didn't give a shit about me this whole year. Which, yeah, I deserved, but let's not pretend you were ever going to speak to me again in your life, what the hell would have made it different for you if I died?"

Evan sucked in a breath. "Is this- was this because of our fight?"

Jared rolled his eyes. "Good going, Sherlock."

"I-I-Jared, I'm so-"

"Don't. Look, I appreciate you driving me more than you can know, and I'll try to repay you, but don't do this bullshit where you pretend to care about me. I don't want to do that anymore."

It was quiet for a while. It started to rain, the sound of water on the windshield almost drowning out Evan's next words, which he barely muttered. "Were you trying to kill yourself?"

"What?"

Evan looked at Jared. "When you walked in front of a car, were you trying to kill yourself?"

"What? No! I just didn't see it, why would I- I'm not Connor!"

"I'm just asking, alright? You tell me that no one cares about you and you think I don't care and-" He ignored Jared's scoff "-and I don't know, alright? Look, you were there for me throughout this whole Connor mess, yeah- it was- it was in your own way, but you were there, and I'm gonna be here for you now." He rested a hand on Jared's shoulder before wiping his tears away, turning the wipers on, and pulling back onto the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, and thank you for all the comments, they mean so much to me.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment if you enjoyed the story! It really helps!


End file.
